Kathi KevilleThe French call this South American rain forest tree bois de rose, or “wood of rose.” Rosewood was first distilled in 1875 in French Guiana, but became so popular that the trees were all cut. It is one of the many plants that make the...
Originally from India, lemongrass is an important medicine in South America and Southeast Asia. It is grown in Central America, Brazil and China, and is one of the ten best-selling essential oils in the world (about 1,500 tons per year). It is used...
Familiar as a culinary herb, sage comes from Spain and Asia Minor. In medieval times it was used as a nervous-system tonic to reduce tics or epilepsy. Because its essential oil has antioxidant properties, the herb was used to preserve food. In...
“Sweet marjoram” is native to Asia but is a naturalized citizen of Europe, where singers preserve their voices with the honeyed tea. It was used in weddings to symbolize honor, happiness, and love. A marjoram species was probably the...
One of the oldest perfume materials, sandalwood has been in use for at least 2,000 years. It begins producing oil only after 30 years. Mysore, India, produces the best-quality oil, which is regulated by the government, but oil is also available from...
Well-known to herbalists as “lemon balm,” melissa is a southern European native. A medieval favorite, it was the main ingredient in “Carmelite Water,” along with lemon peel, nutmeg, coriander and angelica. It was used for...
This large Australian tree, sometimes also spelled “ti,” is related to eucalyptus. There are many species and subspecies; all have an interesting bark that curls off the trunk, giving them the name “paperbark.” Studies show...
A common Australian tree-also called by the less poetic name “black wattle”-mimosa is grown in Africa, Europe and warmer sections of the United States. It is used mostly in perfume. Family: Mimosaceae Extraction: Absolute, concrete. The...
Rudyard Kipling wrote of the “wind-bit thyme that smells like the perfume of the dawn in paradise.” Ancient Greeks complimented each other as “smelling like thymbra”; their word thymain meant “to burn as incense,”...
Originally from the Middle East and northeast African, Myrrh has been an important trade item for more than a thousand years. Myrrh still has many medicinal, cosmetic, and emotional benefits.
